Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 67

Adhyāya 25 — Liṅga-māhātmya (The Chapter on the Liṅga): Hari’s Śiva-Worship and the Fiery Pillar Theophany

Devanagari script

श्रीभगवानुवाच आसोदेकार्णवं घोरमविभागं तमोमयम् / मध्ये चैकार्णवे तस्मिन् शङ्खचक्रगदाधरः

Transliteration

śrībhagavānuvāca āsodekārṇavaṃ ghoramavibhāgaṃ tamomayam / madhye caikārṇave tasmin śaṅkhacakragadādharaḥ

Translation

世尊は言われた。「その時、ただ一つの恐るべき大海があった——分別なく、闇そのものに満ちていた。その一海のただ中に、法螺貝・円盤・棍棒を執る御方が立っておられた。」

Word by Word

• श्रीभगवान्: the Blessed Lord
• श्रीभगवान्: कर्ता (Karta/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्री + भगवान् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; ‘श्रीमान् भगवान्’ इति कर्मधारय

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: क्रिया (Kriyā/Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• आसीत्: there was
• आसीत्: क्रिया (Kriyā/Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• एकार्णवम्: a single ocean (cosmic flood)
• एकार्णवम्: कर्ता (Karta/Subject complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एक + अर्णव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; ‘एकः अर्णवः’ इति कर्मधारय

• घोरम्: terrible
• घोरम्: विशेषण (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: घोर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण

• अविभागम्: undivided, without distinction
• अविभागम्: विशेषण (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अविभाग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण

• तमोमयम्: consisting of darkness
• तमोमयम्: विशेषण (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तमस् + मय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; ‘तमसा मयम्’ इति तृतीया-तत्पुरुष (made of darkness)

• मध्ये: in the middle
• मध्ये: अधिकरण (Adhikaraṇa/Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मध्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; अधिकरण

• च: and
• च: समुच्चय (Conjunctive)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• एकार्णवे: in that single ocean
• एकार्णवे: अधिकरण (Adhikaraṇa/Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एक + अर्णव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; ‘एकः अर्णवः’ इति कर्मधारय

• तस्मिन्: in that
• तस्मिन्: अधिकरण (Adhikaraṇa/Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• शङ्खचक्रगदाधरः: the bearer of conch, discus and mace
• शङ्खचक्रगदाधरः: कर्ता (Karta/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शङ्ख + चक्र + गदा + धर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; ‘शङ्खं चक्रं गदां च धरति’ इति उपपद-तत्पुरुष (bearer of conch, discus, mace)

Speaker

Śrī Bhagavān (Lord Viṣṇu/Nārāyaṇa, as Kurma Purana’s supreme speaker in this dialogue frame)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: bhayanaka

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Characters & Entities

• Bhagavān (Nārāyaṇa/Viṣṇu)
• Ekārṇava (the One Ocean)
• Śaṅkha (conch)
• Cakra (discus)
• Gadā (mace)

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

How does this verse explain the nature of the Supreme Self (Atman)?

By placing the Lord alone in the undifferentiated, darkness-filled Ekārṇava, the verse implies a transcendent Supreme reality that remains present when names, forms, and divisions dissolve—suggesting the Self as the abiding ground beyond cosmic differentiation.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

This verse is primarily cosmological, but it supports a yogic contemplation used in Purāṇic meditation: withdrawing the mind from differentiated objects (avibhāga) and contemplating the single Supreme (Nārāyaṇa) as the stable center even during pralaya—an aid to ekāgratā (one-pointedness) and vairāgya (dispassion).

How does this verse depict the relationship between Shiva and Vishnu?

While the verse names Viṣṇu by his emblems, the Kurma Purana’s broader synthesis reads this as the one Supreme Lord who persists through dissolution—harmonizable with Shaiva theology by treating the enduring, emblem-bearing Lord as the same highest Īśvara praised across Shaiva-Vaishnava frames.